Bungie's Destiny 2 Showcase has officially started and we've got our first look at The Witch Queen expansion, the name of the fourth part of Destiny 2's Light and Darkness Saga, and a whole lot more of information. It's basically Christmas for Destiny 2 players.
THE WITCH QUEEN - Release date confirmed
Destiny 2's The Witch Queen Expansion is going to launch on February 22nd, 2022.
It was a long time coming, but we finally know when we're going to see The Witch Queen launch for Destiny 2 and there's A LOT to look forward to in this next expansion.
Destiny 2 is getting a new Weapon Archetype - The Glaive - alongside a new crafting system and customisable perks. The Light and Darkness saga is continuing and we can't wait to see what The Final Shape brings...
UPDATE - "Witch Queen and beyond"...
In the latest TWAB (This Week At Bungie), Destiny 2 fans got a little insight into what to expect from the future of Destiny 2 in regards to weaponry - Guns are a big part of a game like Destiny 2, as you can imagine!
In the "more distant future" - but ahead of The Witch Queen Expansion - Destiny 2 fans have the following to look forward to...
- Linear Fusion Rifles & Caster Frame Sword tweaks;
- Buffs for underpowered Exotics;
- Including... Arbalest, Suros Regime, Cryosthesia 77K, Malfeasance;
- Rate of Fire changes for Semi-Automatic weapons;
- Gameplay tweaks to increase faster swap speeds;
And, from the "Witch Queen and beyond"...
" We’ve talked previously about wanting Legendary weapons to have more identity based on their source and expect to ship a new system for this in or close to The Witch Queen."
We might not hear too much about this during the Destiny 2 Showcase later, but we should hear something about how Bungie plan to keep combat fresh going forwards.
STRAIGHT INTO IT - Season 15 Start Time
Bungie is trying to make the transition from the Destiny 2 Showcase - which is going to include a reveal for the upcoming The Witch Queen Expansion - and Season 15 as seamless as possible. This means they're starting their Server Maintenance a bit earlier and simultaneously on all platforms. Here's what the timeline of events looks like...
- Server Maintenance Starts
- 08:00 PST / 11:00 EST / 16:00 BST
- Update 3.3.0 Available
- 10:00 PST / 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST
- Maintenance Concludes
- 12:00 PST / 15:00 EST / 20:00 BST
Destiny 2 players should be able to log back into Destiny 2 from 10:00 PST / 13:00 EST / 18:00 BST - an hour after the Destiny 2 Showcase starts - however, there might be a few issues until Server Maintenance concludes. Happy hunting, Guardians.
REVEAL - The Witch Queen Expansion to be shown
Ahead of the Destiny 2 Showcase, Bungie has confirmed what everyone already knew - The Witch Queen Expansion is going to be revealed fully during the showcase ahead of Season 15.
We're still not entirely sure how much we're going to find out about The Witch Queen Expansion during the Destiny 2 Showcase, but a release date has to be on the cards. After being pushed back, we're expecting it to arrive in early 2022.
This is still a little while away, so we don't think we're going to get many details about Destiny 2's The Witch Queen Expansion just yet. However, a Cinematic Trailer and a release date would tide us over nicely with all the new content from Season 15.
The name of the next season is...
Bungie hasn't offered us anything too new when it comes to the Season 15 Showcase happening next week, but we do know what the next season of content is going to be called.
Season 15 is going to be known as the Season of the Lost and it looks like a fan-favourite is going to return to the forefront of the narrative for this one...
At the moment, we're still working on the assumption that Season 15 is going to start on August 24th, the same day as the Showcase. If anything, it'll just start a little later in the day... We hope.
When does the new Showcase take place?
Bungie's Destiny 2 Showcase is scheduled to take place on August 24th at the following times:
- 09:00 PST
- 12:00 EST
- 17:00 BST
We don't know exactly how long it will be, but it's being pitched as a Showcase which would suggest it's going to be a little longer than a couple of trailers shoe-horned together.
All we know so far is the Tweet below and the following statement:
" Seven years of Destiny have led us here – to the precipice of an adventure unlike any we’ve encountered before. Join us and begin to understand what lies ahead. Will you survive the truth?"
You'll be able to watch the Showcase on Bungie's Twitch channel and a pre-show starts an hour before.
What are we expecting to hear about?
We don't really know what to expect from the upcoming Destiny 2 Showcase, but Bungie is talking about it very mysteriously... So, we're expecting something big. Primarily, we're expecting that this is going to be more information about Destiny 2's The Witch Queen Expansion, which was pushed back earlier in the year to 2022. It's going to be "an important evolution in the ongoing story of Destiny 2" - according to Assistant Game Director Joe Blackburn - and it should introduce a lot of great new features to the game.
It feels a little early for a release date, though, unless it's been pushed up. So, we're expecting to hear more about the general improvements coming to Destiny 2 between now and the release of The Witch Queen and Season 15, primarily.
What's interesting, though, is that Season 15 is actually due to start on the same day as the Showcase. So, if we don't hear anything more between now and then... It should all be revealed on August 24th.
For now, though... It's time to take a look back before we look ahead to the future of Destiny 2. Things are going to get a lot better, Guardians...